


You Can Thank Me When We Get Back To Oahu

by pineapple_boop



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Anxious Danny, Denial Danny, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Oblivious Steve, Ohana, Violence, Worried boyfriends pretty much, mcdanno, set in season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-05-31 08:33:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pineapple_boop/pseuds/pineapple_boop
Summary: Danny has severe nightmares after the events in North Korea, Steve notices and decides to take care of him, whether Danny agrees with that or not.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is my second fic I've ever posted, so any feedback is very welcome! I decided to split this story into multiple chapters, to force myself to take more time with the plot.  
> It's important to note that this fic plays after S2E10 (Ki'ilua), the episode where Steve is taken hostage in North Korea, Wo Fat tortures him for information about Shelburne and Danny rounds up an entire SEAL team to save him. Around this time in the show Steve and Danny are also living together. I wasn't sure if that was still canon at the time of this episode, but decided to keep it in for the sake of the plot! Hope you have fun reading this!

_He looks around, confused as to where he is. His hand searches for his gun, but it’s not in his holster where it usually is. Danny blinks and tries to focus his eyes, but the world around him is still blurry. As he rubs his eyes, he hears somebody scream._

_He quickly turns his body toward where the scream came from, the building he’s standing in suddenly focussed. The concrete walls around him look very old, the floor is muddy and there’s a nauseating smell in the air. He hears a second scream, louder this time, and he starts to run towards the sound. “I’m going to kill you!”, he hears the person scream. Even though it’s a threat, it sounds strained, like the person yelling is in pain._

_Danny runs a little faster, even though he isn’t completely sure why he’s so desperate to get to this person. By the time he’s sure that he’s getting close, his chest is heaving and his legs are worn out. After he rounds another corner, he stops dead in his tracks. Steve’s sitting against a wall, his shirt open and blood trailing down his face and chest. Wo Fat is standing next to him, a gun in his hands._

_Danny tries to move or say something, but he can’t. It feels like his feet are glued to the ground and like his tongue has swollen to three times its usual size in his mouth. Wo Fat turns to face him, a grin on his face. He doesn’t say anything as he points his gun at Steve, who’s still sitting on the ground. Danny’s eyes widen and he makes eye contact with Steve, who looks at him with tears in his eyes._

_He’s finally able to move after Danny hears two gunshots and sees Steve’s eyes widen, clutching his chest. Danny lets out a chocked scream and runs towards his partner, dropping to his knees. Steve’s eyes slowly close and his arms fall in his lap as Danny reaches him. “Steve!”, Danny yells, grabbing him by his shoulders. Steve’s body is really cold as he holds it against his, hoping his partner will return the embrace. But Steve stays limp in his arms while Danny sobs against his shoulder, softly muttering and begging Steve not to leave him, not like this._

_After what feels like hours, Danny lets go of Steve, laying him flat on the ground. Suddenly, Steve’s eyes shoot open. Danny jolts and falls backwards, staring at Steve’s dead, unblinking eyes. “Why didn’t you save me, Danny?”, Steve asks him in a monotone voice, which is deeper than usual. Danny chokes back a sob, why is Steve doing this to him? “I thought you where my friend, Danny”, Steve continues, “I thought you loved me.”_

_Danny’s heart shatters in his chest, “I do, I really do, I was just too late.” His voice breaks and Danny realises how small he must sound. Steve lets out a weird gurgling noise, which must resemble laughter and grabs Danny’s ankle, his fingernails digging through the cloth of Danny’s jeans. “You will never be able to keep me save, Danno”, Steve says, a wicked smile on his grey face. “One day you’ll watch me die and there’s nothing you can do”, Steve lets out another gurgling laugh, his hand gripping Danny’s ankle tighter. Danny opens his mouth and screams, feeling like the sound will make him fall apart._

Danny jolts awake and jumps backwards against the couch he’s sleeping on, nearly falling off. He’s startled by the dark figure standing opposite to him, straining to see who it is. They step closer and he finally notices it’s Steve, a gun in his right hand. When Danny tries to say something, he notices his throat feels raw. He tries to swallow and he feels that his entire back is soaked with sweat and his hair is sticking to his forehead.

“What are you doing?”, Danny asks his partner, his voice sounding coarse and rough. Steve scoffs, “What am I doing? What the hell where you doing in the middle of the night?” Steve puts his gun on the table between them and puts his hands on his hips. Danny looks at him, puzzled. “What do you mean?” Steve sits down on the chair next to him. “I mean,” he explains “why the hell are you screaming bloody murder at three in the morning?”

Danny frowns, why had he been screaming? His brain was so foggy, it felt like he was barely able to remember where he was and what had just happened. “Well?”, Steve asks impatiently. As he hears Steve’s voice, everything comes rushing back to him. He remembers the dream, the feeling in his chest when he saw Steve get shot right in front of his eyes, his partner dying in his arms and the horrible scene that played afterwards.

Danny also remembers everything that happened leading up to the rescue-op in North Korea. How horrible he’d felt when he knew that there was nothing he could do, that Steve could die before Danny could get to him. That he’d be alone on this god forsaken island, just because he couldn’t even rescue his own partner. He hadn’t even noticed that Steve was sitting next to him on the couch, until he felt him softly touch his thigh. “Danno, what’s going on?”, Steve asks, a concerned look on his face.

In a trance, Danny touches his own face, he notices his cheeks are wet, but he isn’t sure why. His ankle tingles and a grabs it, confused. He sees Steve’s lips move but he can’t quite make out what he’s saying. Steve softly shakes him and Danny feels himself get pulled back to reality. All of a sudden everything seems to loud, too vibrant, too much. Danny frantically looks around, trying to find order in the chaos his brain is creating.

“Danny, just look at me, okay?”, he hears Steve say. Danny moves his attention to Steve, looking into his concerned eyes. Danny finds comfort in them, noticing how they look like a dark blue now, while they normally look bright and sparkling. Steve softly rubs his thumbs over Danny’s arms and he feels that it’s grounding him, like he’s moving back into his body. Danny takes a deep shuddering breath, he feels like he hasn’t breathed properly for two hours.

“Are you okay?”, Steve asks him, softly squeezing his arms. Danny nods, but he still doesn’t feel like he’ll be able to talk. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”, Steve shifts around on the couch, pulling away a little to look at Danny properly. Danny shakes his head, finally realising tears are trickling down his face. “That’s okay”, Steve softly tells him, a small smile on his face.

He shifts again, sitting up against the couch. Steve pulls Danny against him, Danny’s legs over his own. “Is this okay?”, Steve raises his eyebrows as he puts a hand on Danny’s lower back, where his shirt’s still soaked in sweat. Danny answers his question by putting his head on Steve’s shoulder, his hands balled against his partner’s chest. Steve puts his arms around him, “You’ll be okay Danno, I’m right here.”

* * *

Steve wakes up the next morning with the sun shining in his face, he groans and tries to stretch, but realises his arm is stuck. He opens his eyes and sees that Danny’s still lying against his chest, his mouth opened slightly and his hands softly clutching Steve’s shirt. Steve tries to wriggle his fingers around a little, to get some blood in his arm. Danny stirs at his movement, he lets out a soft noice and nudges even closer.

Steve smiles softly at the sight, he’s so happy that he’s around Danny again, it felt so weird to go to North Korea without him. Looking down at his partner, Steve realised how much he appreciated him and how much he relied on him. During their field work of course, but also outside of work. Now that he had his partner so close, he realised that he really sees Danny that way. His partner.

Not just in the way they’re partners at work, but through a lot of factors in his life. He sighs when he remembers the relief he felt washing over him when he saw Danny again, after he was sure he was going to die. Wo Fat wanted him to take him to Shelburne, but he doesn’t know where Shelburne is any more than Wo Fat does. In the back of the dirty truck, he was sure he was going to die really soon and that he’d never see Danny again.

It surprised him at first, that the first person is mind went to in that situation, was Danny. But he understands now. Danny means so much to him. He’s still thinking about everything Danny’s did for him when he stirs in his laps, lazily opening his eyes. “Hey,” Steve says, unable to keep a smile out of his voice. He can’t help but notice how nice Danny looks when he’s just woken up, his hair that’s usually so tidy sticking out and a groggy look on his face.

“Hey”, Danny answers, a confused look creeping over his face. “Why aren’t you in your own bed?”, he asks him after a while. Steve frowns, “You don’t remember?” Danny still has a puzzled look on his face, “What should I remember?” Steve frowns, “I think you had a nightmare.” Danny frowns too and realisation floods over his face, he shifts around and Steve notices that he seems to be uncomfortable.

Danny goes to sit a little further away from him and Steve shudders at the sudden loss of Danny’s warmth. He tries to read what’s going on with his partner, but he seems to be a closed book. “Do you want to talk about it?”, he asks, a hint of authority in his voice. Danny just grunts and looks away.

“So, what’d I miss during the briefing?”, Danny asks him. They’re driving towards a crime scene, but Danny wasn’t in the office that morning, he had to drop off Grace at school. “Not much, we don’t know a lot about the case yet,” Steve tells him, “This morning a local called HPO after they found what seemed to be the scene of a murder in their front yard.” Danny scoffs, “What do you mean it ‘seemed to be’ a scene of a murder?”, he makes quotation marks in the air.

“Because there wasn’t a body anywhere, but about a gallon of blood,” Steve answers, “we haven’t got much to go on so far.” Steve can hear the grin on Danny’s face without even having to look at him, “Apart from the gallon of blood you mean?” Steve sighs, “Yes, except that Danno.” A small smile spreads across his face. He was still really worried about his partner after the intense nightmare, but he seems to be okay now.

They drive up to the house, the front yard set off with police lint and the place is busy with people. Steve parks the car and he notices Max is already at the scene,so he immediately walks up to him. He’s bent over, inspecting something in the grass. “Morning Max, what do you got?”, Steve hears Danny say behind him. Max turns around, looking like they just disturbed him while he was deep in thought.

“Ah, gentlemen, I didn’t notice you come up to me!”, Max says, a serious expression on his face. He turns and gestures to the bloody scene around them, “As you can tell, there is no body present at this crime scene.” Steve notices Danny’s grin, but is too late to stop him from saying something witty, “We’ve noticed that Max, what are your conclusions on this fact?” Max continues like Danny didn’t say anything, though he does give him a look of mild irritation.

“Besides the blood, we have found some highly peculiar things at this crime scene, if you would follow me,” Max gestures to the front of the house and leads them to patch of grass a little away from the puddle of now dried up blood. “As you can see, the blood seems to start here, and spread out across the field, suggesting the victim was standing somewhere around here when they where harmed,” Max stops talking, seemingly satisfied with his explanation.

It stays quiet for a while before Danny questions Max, “Is that all you’ve got? Because that’s not a whole lot, you know.” Max grins, “I’m fully aware of that detective, I just wanted you to keep that in mind as I direct you to some of the other findings I’ve done.” Max and Danny’s back and forth discussion lasted for a while, so Steve decided to just observe them and the crime scene in silence, thinking over his conclusions for what Max found.

After Max had shown them where they found some casings for a 9 mm handgun, fingerprints on the porch banister that don’t belong to the home owners and something what looks like an empty wallet, which needs to be cleaned first to make out if there’s anything useful in it. “Thanks for the intel Max, we’ll look into all of this,” Steve tells Max with a smile. Max nods and leaves him and Danny to return to headquarters.

When they arrive, they see Chin and Lori already discussing something while hunched over the table. They turn around the moment Steve pushes open the door, halting their conversation. “Do you guys have anything new on this case?”, Steve immediately aks as he comes in. “We might,” Chin starts, “The guys at the crime scene immediately sent the casings and the wallet to Fong and they’ve just sent in the report.”

Chin explains that Fong determined what type of gun was used at the crime scene and that the wallet only contained a receipt from a private owned store not too far away from the crime scene. “Oh and they also found who the fingerprints belonged to”, Chin concludes his story, pulling up a picture of a woman on one of the screens facing them. Steve nods, “Okay Chin, if you and Lori would investigate the place where this woman lives, Danny and I will visit the store and find out if they’ve seen anything.” Chin nods and he and Lori leave headquarters, immediately followed by Danny and Steve.

They arrive at the store about 15 minutes later and Steve immediately recognises the woman whose fingerprints where at the crime scene. Naturally, she bolts the moment she notices Steve’s badge and gun. Steve frowns, why do they always run? He immediately sprints after her however, turning heads as he runs through the store.

“Steve! Where are you going?”, he faintly hears Danny scream behind him, but ignores him. The woman had a head start, but she’s very short and not too fast, so Steve catches up with her with just a few strides. Just as he prepares to tackle her to the ground, she turns around and steps aside, sending him flying past her. “Don’t move!”, she yells in a shaky voice. Steve immediately throws his hands into the air, focussing on the gun the woman is now pointing at his chest.

“Calm down, I just want to talk to you”, he tells her, slowly moving towards her. Suddenly, he hears two gun-shots and the woman falls to the ground, screaming in pain. He looks up and sees that Danny shot the woman, a terrified look on his face. “Thanks, but I had this under control,” he says nonchalantly, kicking the woman’s gun away and pulling her hands behind her back.

Danny produces a laugh that sounds slightly hysterical, “Sure, it’s not even 11 and you’ve already been held at gun point!” Steve smiles, “Relax Danno, we got the suspect, right?” The woman groans as he pulls her up to her feet, hunching over because of the two bullet wounds in her leg. “Well, I just hope you’ve met your quota for near-death-experiences for today,” Danny grumpily mumbles as he hears him following behind him.

* * *

Steve’s currently interrogating the woman they arrested at the store and he should probably be there with him, but Danny just can’t bring himself to focus on the case. He asked Chin to take his place, with the lame excuse of needing to look through the report the crime lab sent back again. He’s pretty sure Chin knew something was wrong, but luckily, he left him alone.

So now he’s sitting in his office, running his hands over his face in an attempt to calm down, not focussing on the report at all. What the hell is going on with him? This morning at the store, he completely freaked out. He lost track of where Steve was and found him held at gun point by the woman who must’ve been at the crime scene the night before. Before he knew what he was doing, he’d shot her in the leg twice.

He sighs and puts his head on his arms, which are resting on the desk. His line of work is not really suit for just acting without thinking first. Especially if your partner’s name is Steve McGarrett. He’s just too goddamned tired, he hasn’t been sleeping properly ever since Steve got back from North Korea. He’s so ready for this day to be over, so he can at least try to sleep as much as possible. He just hopes the nightmares will leave him alone for once, he needs some rest. Danny doesn’t even remember them most of the time, just the feeling he had while experiencing them. The moment he spots his partner the next morning, he feels okay again.

He just starts to think about how embarrassed he feels about last night, when he hears his office door open. He sits up straight and spots Steve peaking his head through the door, a concerned look on his face. “Everything okay?”, he asks him, not breaking eye-contact. “Yeah, just a little tired”, Danny lies, hoping Steve will back off, he’s really not in the mood to talk about what’s going on with him.

Steve frowns and looks like he’s going to argue, but decides against it at the last moment, “The suspect’s admitted everything, I’m briefing everybody right now.” Danny nods, “I’ll be there in a second.” Again, Steve looks like he wants to say something, but eventually he just nods and leaves Danny alone again. Danny sighs, he’s too tired for this.

He isn’t entirely sure how he ended up in this situation, but here he is. Steve’s driving them to a location the first suspect gave them with a serious expression on his face, driving just fast enough to make Danny uncomfortable, clutching the dashboard in front him. “So, what are we doing again?”, Danny asks, still confused as to where they’re going and who they’re going to arrest.

“To visit the other people the suspect's named, she admitted they where in on the murder of one of their friends,” Steve answers him. “Sounds like a fun friend group,” Danny adds, his voice rising an octave after Steve only nearly misses a car in front of them. Steve brings the car to an abrupt halt in front of what looks like a regular house in a suburban neighbourhood. His partner’s already at the front door when Danny closes the door to the passenger’s seat.

As he joins Steve at the front door, he notices Chin and Lori joining them, they followed them as close behind as they could. Steve makes eye contact with all of them, nods and kicks down the door. “5-0!”, Steve yells, as he walks through the door, gun raised. Systematically the team combs through the house, one by one they yell, “Clear!”, to let the others know that their part of the house is secure.

After a few minutes, Danny bumps into Chin and Lori in the living room, but he still hasn’t heard from Steve. Panic washes over him, his mind flooding with images of Steve in danger, hurt or worse. Frantically, he runs toward the part of the house Steve was clearing, not seeing any sign of him. He finds him in the last room on the second floor, it seems to be an office. Steve’s looking at some pictures and looks up at him when he enters the room.

At Steve’s calm expression, Danny’s panic immediately flips to frustration, “Why the hell didn’t you call out?” Steve frowns, “I did, you must’ve not heard me.” Danny makes a noise of protest, but Steve’s already walking out of the room. “Let’s go, there’s nobody here and we need to pack up all of this evidence”, Steve doesn’t seem to be bothered at all as he slaps Danny on his back, making his way to the stairs.

Late that afternoon, when he finally arrives at Steve’s place, he crashes face first onto the coach in the living room. He feels the tired muscles in his back relax as soon as his face lands on the pillow he’s been sleeping on. After what only feels like a few minutes, he wakes up to the sound of the front door opening and closing in front of him. He groans and rubs his eyes before opening them. Steve’s looking at him with a soft smile on his face.

“What are you looking at?”, Danny asks him, sitting up and hearing the bones in his back crack as he shifts around. Steve’s smile grows wider, “Nothing, you just look cute when you’re sleeping.” Danny has no idea how to respond to this, so he just decides to pretend like he didn’t hear what Steve said. “What time is it?”, he asks him. Danny notices his tongue feels like sandpaper in his mouth, so he moves to the kitchen to get some water.

He hears Steve follow close behind, “It's about nine, have you eaten yet?” Danny gulps down a glass of water and sets it on the counter before answering, “I’m not really hungry, I think I’m just going to go to bed again.” For a while, Steve just stands there, his arms crossed. Danny can’t stand his bright blue piercing eyes, so he starts taking off his shoes, just to give his hands something to do.

While he’s untying his shoelaces and kicking off his shoes, he still feels Steve’s gaze rest on him. He’s just about to try to ignore him again, when Steve finally breaks the silence, “Are you sure you’re okay, Danno?” Now he can’t avoid looking up at his partner, but he still avoids making eye contact. He grunts, “Just tired, I need some rest.” Before Steve can say anything else, before he can start arguing or press him for answers, Danny’s left him alone in the kitchen. He still has a weird heavy feeling in his stomach when he goes to lie down on the couch again, still wearing his regular clothes.

* * *

Steve decided to sit outside after Danny left him to go to sleep, to allow his partner some privacy. Even though he has a beautiful view and the beer he’s drinking isn’t to shabby either, he can’t help but feel like something is really wrong. It's like something obvious is wrong, but he just can’t lay is finger on what it is exactly.

He’s gotten to know Danny pretty well in the time they spent as partners with 5-0, but outside of work too. Only now Steve realises how much time he and Danny really spend together. Besides seeing each other during the week when they’re at work, they’ve spent so much time just hanging out too. Not to mention that Danny even lives in his house now. It’s just temporarily though, and who would let their partner live in a horrible hotel when they’ve got more than enough space in their house?

Steve smiles to himself, having Danny living in the house didn’t feel weird at all. He was already around so much, the only difference now is that he sleeps here too. Steve also realises that having Danny around so often, means that the house feels less empty too. He noticed that the sight of Danny in the morning, going to work together and coming home to him felt really comforting.

He jolts upwards in his chair when he hears a muffled scream and thud coming from the living room. He’s on his feet immediately, is Danny having another nightmare or is something else wrong? He finds Danny on the floor beside the couch, a bewildered expression on his face. “Is everything okay?”, Steve asks, still slightly alarmed. Danny rubs his elbow, “Yeah, I’m fine, just fell off the couch.”

Steve’s about to turn around when he looks at his partner a little closer. His hair is sticking to his forehead, his cheeks are read and his eyes look watery. Danny notices he’s still looking at him and tries to pretend everything is really okay, but Steve notices that he still seems really stressed out about something. An idea pops up in his head and he runs to his bedroom. After a few walks up and down the stairs, Danny looking at Steve while he runs around, he starts moving the coffee table out of the way.

“Steve,” Danny starts, “what the hell are you doing?” Steve doesn’t answer, but starts rearranging his mattress next to the couch Danny’s sleeping on. He lies down, ignoring Danny’s confused face looking down on him, “‘Night, Danno.” Danny seems to be at a loss for words for a while, but after a he’s opened and closed his mouth a few times, he seems to have regained his voice.

“Seriously Steve, what is this?”, Steve can’t help but notice slight panic seeping through Danny’s frustrated tone. “You really need to get some rest,” Steve starts, sitting upright so he’s level with Danny, “and I felt like this would help.” Danny looks like he wants to argue, but Steve interrupts him, “You calmed down last time and you seem calmed down now.” Again, Danny wants to intervene, but Steve keeps talking. “So quit acting like a baby and lay back down, we both need to sleep,” Steve sees an emotion he can’t quite place flash in Danny’s eyes, but eventually he seems to give up and lays down.

“‘Night,” Danny says it so softly, Steve wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t listening to his partner’s breathing so closely. After he few minutes, Danny’s breathing grows calm and rhythmic. Steve sighs and allows himself to drift off to sleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading! If you have any suggestions for the next chapter or some general feedback, I'd love to hear it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2! I nearly made myself cry while writing this, whoops. I hope you enjoy reading it!

The next morning Danny wakes up lying on his stomach, one arm hanging next to the couch. He reluctantly opens his eyes, trying to figure out what time it is. As he’s looking around he notices that his hand is resting on Steve’s chest, his partner’s hand holding his.

For a few minutes, he doesn’t know what to do. Steve sleeping next to him made Danny feel both comforted and really freaked out, and this only added fuel to the fire raging inside him. He’s still looking at Steve with widened eyes when Danny notices him stirring in his sleep, seeming to wake up. He quickly closes his eyes again, pretending to be asleep.

Steve grips his hand a little tighter and he feels his breath on his arm when he sighs. Steve softly rubs Danny’s hand with his thumb and Danny can feel his heartbeat speeding up to an alarming rate for someone who’s lying down. After a while, he feels Steve softly place is hand on the mattress next to him, trying to move as little as possible.

Danny hears him stand up and walk towards the bathroom. When he’s sure he’s not in the room anymore, he opens his eyes and lets out a long shuddering breath. What the hell was that all about? When Steve returns to the living room, Danny’s already changed into some clothes that don’t smell as bad as the ones he was wearing from the day before. Steve’s face lights up when he sees Danny sitting on the couch.

“I hope I didn’t wake you up,” Steve says. Danny smiles softly, trying to hide his nerves. “No you didn’t,” he reassures him.

“Okay good, up for some breakfast in the car?”, Steve asks him, eyebrows raised, “We’re running a little late.” Danny nods and Steve turns around to head to the kitchen.

Danny puts his face in his hands with a frustrated sigh, is he going crazy? How is Steve pretending nothing happened? That nothing’s going on? Even though Steve’s actions left him utterly confused, Danny must admit that he hasn’t slept this well in a really long time.

Work goes a lot better that day and Danny’s relieved that they’re making steady progress with the case they’re working on. He’s digging through one of the suspect’s criminal records, trying to connect him with a different suspect, when he notices how hungry he is.

He checks the time, realising it’s already 6 p.m. Danny decides to call it a day and cleans up his desk, grabs his phone and heads out of the office. He looks around for Steve, his assumption proving correct, he’s still working. Danny opens the door to Steve’s office, poking his head through.

“Hey babe, want to get some food?”, Danny asks him, “I’m starving.”Steve smiles at him, “Sure, what do you want to get?”, he asks, packing away his things and following him out of the office.

“I was thinking pizza?”, Danny suggests, walking towards his car. Steve unlocks the car and gets in on the driver’s side. “Sounds like a plan!”, he tells Danny, starting the engine before Danny has even closed the door.

Danny holds the two pizza boxes in his lap, while Steve drives home from the pizzeria. The smell is making Danny’s stomach rumble and for the first time, he’s happy Steve’s driving a little too fast. Danny’s out of the car in record time, but is disappointed when he still has to wait for Steve to open the front door.

Steve holds it open for him and Danny walks straight to the living room, not even bothering to grab plates. Steve chuckles, “Somebody’s hungry” he states.

“Hey, you didn’t have your face in the delicious pizza smell all the way home, alright?”, Danny answers, setting down the pizza on the coffee table so he can take off his shoes. As he does this, he remembers the coffee table’s out of place because Steve’s mattress is still next to the couch. He stares at Steve’s bed, confusion and anxiety washing over him again.

Steve must have caught him looking, because he suggests they eat in the kitchen. “Yeah, sure,” Danny answers, his voice sounding smaller than he expected. They sit at the kitchen counter, both with a pizza box in front of them. Steve gets up to walk to the fridge, “You want a beer?”, he asks him.

He answers with a short nod, returning his attention to his food, trying not to stare at his partner. Steve hands him an uncapped bottle and Danny takes a sip, shuddering at how cold the drink feels in his mouth. They sit in silence for a while, in which Danny desperately tries not to let his thoughts run away with him.

“You okay, Danno?”, Steve asks him through a mouth full of food, “You seem quiet.” Danny hums, “I’m okay, just thinking over the case,” the lie came out unconvincing, even to himself. Steve sets down his beer and looks at him, staring at the side of Danny’s face before saying anything.

“You’re lying,” he firmly states, “What’s going on?” Danny sighs, still not looking at Steve. He really doesn’t want to get into this, but it seems like he doesn’t have a choice. Danny starts talking without really knowing what he’s going to say, “It’s just that, that I can’t ask you to sleep on the floor in your own house, Steve.”

Danny finally looks at his partner, unable to withstand Steve’s piercing gaze. Steve frowns, “First of all, you didn’t ask me to sleep next to you.” Before Danny can interrupt him, Steve puts a finger up in the air.

“Second of all, I’m not sleeping on the ground, I’m sleeping on my own mattress, I just relocated it,” Steve seems to be really satisfied with his reasoning, but Danny can’t let this go now that Steve has brought it up.

“Don’t get smart with me, Steve!”, Danny responds, “You know what I mean!” Steve seems totally oblivious to his discomfort, because he shrugs and takes a sip of his beer.

“Listen,” Danny starts, “I can’t expect you to do this, just because I haven’t been sleeping too well.” Danny’s annoyed by how small he sounds, he wants to sound like he’s okay.

“I won’t sleep well either if you keep screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night,” Steve responds, his voice gentle. “And I also don’t like how grumpy you get when you haven’t slept well, so I don’t see the downside here,” Steve ends his sentence with a teasing grin.

“I’m grumpy when I don’t sleep well?”, Danny answers, raising his voice. “Need I remind you to that time you where this close”, Danny holds is index finger and thumb a tiny bit apart, “To punching a suspect in the face because they guessed you didn’t sleep that night?”

Steve grunts, “That was different, Danny.” Danny makes a huffing sound and gestures wildly, “What? No, it’s not!”

Steve grins at him again, “You realise you’re proving my point for me, right?” Danny rolls his eyes at the smug look on Steve’s face, “I slept fine last night, thank you.”

Danny crosses his arms and looks away, “I just don’t feel comfortable with you not sleeping in your own bed, when I’m the guest.” Danny can almost feel Steve’s concerned look resting on him, but he refuses to let him see what he’s really feeling.

Of course he’d rather sleep with Steve next to him. Danny knows it’s probably the only way he’ll get a decent night of sleep, but he’s not going to tell Steve that. He hates being that vulnerable around his partner, even though he knows he’s already seen so much of him. For some reason, this seems like too much to ask.

“I’m not letting you sleep on your own Danny, it doesn’t work,” Danny turns around at Steve’s frustrated tone.

“Well I’m not letting you sleep on the ground!”, Danny yells, much louder than he intended.

“Well I either sleep on the ground next to you or you sleep in my bed with me,” Steve answers resolutely.

Danny opens and closes his mouth a few times, probably looking really stupid. Sleeping in Steve’s bed? Why on earth would he suggest that?

“You’re not going to win this argument Danny,” Steve goes on with a stern look on his face, “This way we both sleep well.” Danny still doesn’t know what to say, but knows that Steve’s right. He’s not going to win this argument and he’s not sure if he even wants to.

“Fine,” Danny answers, desperate to talk about something else, “but only so you’ll shut up about it.” A smug grin finds its way on Steve’s face again and Danny notices he seems a lot happier than before.

* * *

That evening, Steve’s already lying in bed when Danny knocks on the door. He frowns and looks up, “Danno, you don’t have to knock!”

Danny comes in, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Well, just wanted to make sure you weren’t naked,” Danny forces out a chuckle, but it just sounds strained.

Steve looks him up and down, “What? Are you going to sleep in your working clothes?” Danny rolls his eyes at him, but Steve notices the colour rising to his partner’s face.

“I know you take your look very seriously, but this is ridiculous,” Steve teases him. Danny sighs, “Shut up Steve, I just didn’t know where to change.”

Steve frowns, “You can change in here, it’s not anything I haven’t seen before.” Danny’s face becomes even more red and Steve can’t suppress a smile as he turns his attention back to his phone. He hears Danny rustling around, but he doesn’t look up, giving him some privacy.

After a few minutes Danny coughs and Steve looks up, finding him looking even more uncomfortable than before. He’s only wearing a plain black shirt and boxers and Steve needs some time to recollect his thoughts.

“You can come lay down if you want, Danno,” Steve calls out, realising he’s been staring. Danny nods, “Right. Sure.” Danny lifts the covers and lies down next to Steve, staring at the ceiling, his face still red.

Steve turns to put out the lamp on his bedside table and lays down too. “‘Night, Danno,” Steve says, trying to not to look at Danny lying next to him.

Danny manages to force out a strained, “‘Night”, too and Steve’s left to listening to Danny’s fast breathing. Like the night before, Steve waits until he hears Danny’s breathing turn slow and rhythmic, before he lets himself drift off too.

Steve wakes up in the middle of the night with a soft grunt, Danny just bumped his knee into Steve’s thigh rather harshly. Steve opens his eyes and sees Danny next to him, trashing around and whimpering softly.

He frowns, concern flooding over him again. Steve reaches around for Danny’s hand and grabs it, softly holding it in place. “Shh, it’s okay Danno, I’m right here,” he whispers, rubbing his thumb over Danny’s hand.

Steve focusses on Danny’s face, which has a strained expression, like he’s in pain. He continues whispering in Danny’s ear and holding his hand, and after a while Danny stops whimpering and calms down a little.

Steve continues to rub Danny’s hand with his thumb, still focussing on his partner’s face with a focussed expression. Danny’s face relaxes and he rolls on his side, facing Steve and grabbing onto Steve’s arm with his other hand. Steve smiles, holding on to Danny’s hand when he drifts of to sleep again.

The next morning Steve wakes up with Danny in his arms. He groggily opens his eyes and looks down on Danny’s messy blonde hair. During the night, Danny seems to have rolled on top of him, she he’s now laying on his chest with one arm around Steve’s waist.

Steve’s heart seems to almost physically swell at the sight. He takes a deep breath, savouring the moment before the morning really starts. Slowly but surely, a thought creeps into Steve’s mind. Something he feels like he’s been ignoring for too long, refusing to think about it.

How is it possible that he’s totally okay with sleeping in one bed with Danny? Without realising it at the time, he probably suggested that Danny slept in his bed because he wanted him near, not the other way around. He couldn’t stand hearing and seeing Danny have nightmares, it made him feel restless, anxious even.

But would he suggest helping the others on his team in the same way? Or is Danny an exception? It must be because he and Danny are together so much in the field and outside of work, so they just have a special relationship, Steve decides. But still, he doesn’t feel satisfied with this conclusion. Something’s nagging at him, tugging at his chest, letting him know something else is going on.

Before Steve can give it any more thought, he feels Danny stir, grabbing his waist a little tighter. He smiles and closes his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He feels Danny lift is head off Steve’s chest and he knows Danny’s probably looking at him, but he keeps his eyes shut tight.

He tells himself it’s to spare Danny of more embarrassment, but somewhere he knows that he isn’t sure if he could deal with looking at the way Danny looks when he’s just woken up. In his bed. On top of him.

* * *

Danny’s washing his hands in the kitchen sink, trembling slightly, his mind racing. He can’t believe he slept in Steve McGarrett’s bed that night. And woke up on top of him, oh god. There’s no way Steve didn’t notice Danny literally sleeping with his head on Steve’s chest.

Danny had eagerly agreed to do some dishes before they left for work, just to get his hands working on something. He has no idea how he’s going to focus on anything at work, when he can’t help but think about how safe he felt in Steve’s arms that morning.

He feels anything but safe now, his mind running in circles about what it all means, what is he supposed to do? The nightmares about what happened with Steve in North Korea haven’t left completely and Danny just knows Steve’s going to nag him about it.

Danny harshly rubs his hands dry with a towel, he really doesn’t want to discuss his nightmares with Steve. He can’t help but feel like he’s being overly dramatic and he doesn’t want Steve to think he’s weak. Danny hears Steve calling him from the living room, they need to leave for work.

Danny drops the towel on the countertop and makes his way towards his car outside. On the way to the office, Danny’s still deep in thought. He desperately wants the nightmares to end, so everything can return to normal and Danny doesn’t have to deal with his complicated feelings anymore.

As if Steve’s reading his mind, he seems to have decided that now is the perfect moment to bring up the subject.

“So,” Steve starts with a nonchalant tone, “how’d you sleep last night?” Danny grunts, “Okay.” Danny’s avoiding eye contact with Steve, pretending to check out a car on the side of the road.

“Are you sure?”, Steve asks, his tone serious now, “I’m pretty sure I noticed you having another nightmare last night.”

Danny sighs and closes his eyes, “Please just drop it okay? I don’t want to talk about it.”

Steve’s silent for a while, but Danny can feel the energy in the air while he’s listening to the car’s engine.

“Why won’t you tell me what’s going on, Danno?”, Steve asks, Danny decides to ignore the hurt in his voice.

“Because you don’t need to know everything, that’s why!”, he snaps, realising he’s only making the situation worse. The gods must have finally heard his prayers, because they’ve finally arrived at their office and Danny’s out of the car and through the front door before Steve has even turned off the engine.

The entire day, there’s friction between him and Steve. They argue about the little things even more than they usually do and Danny avoids being around Steve as much as possible. He hasn’t felt this anxious and on edge in a really long time.

While driving to arrest the person they believe killed his friend earlier that week, Danny fidgets with his gun and Steve breaks the heavy silence, clearly on edge too. “Would you stop doing that?”, Steve asks him, “That’s dangerous and I like this car, don’t blow a hole in it.”

Danny breathes in sharply through his nose before answering, “I know how to handle a gun, thank you.” Danny sees Steve’s knuckles tighten on the steering wheel, but neither of them says anything.

The car screeches to a halt near an old trailer and Steve gets out of the car first, slamming the door a little harder than necessary. Danny gets out too and he makes eye contact with Chin, who’s standing a little further away. Chin raises his eyebrows, but Danny waves his hand, letting him know he doesn’t have to worry. The last thing he wants is for more people to get involved in this whole thing.

The team already decided that he and Steve would enter the trailer and Chin and Lori would stand back, in case the suspect decided to run. Silently approaching the trailer, Danny tries to shake the frustration and anxiety off, not wanting his judgment to be clouded during a dangerous situation.

The pit in his stomach still doesn’t want to go away when they’ve reached the door. Steve makes eye contact with him, gesturing that he’ll be going in first. Danny nods and Steve bangs on the door, “Five-0! Open the door!”

Danny hears someone shuffle around in the trailer, but nobody opens the door. Steve pulls at the door handle, but the door’s locked. Steve gestures for Danny to come stand behind him and Danny quickly moves to his side. Steve fires a shot directly at the door, blasting a hole through where the lock mechanism used to be.

Danny hears a yell coming from inside and Steve jumps inside the trailer. Danny immediately follows behind, his gun raised. Before Danny’s eyes can fully adjust to the darkness inside the trailer, Steve seems to already be in a wrestling match with the suspect.

Because of the small space, Danny steps away from Steve and the man he’s fighting with, trying to get a clear shot. He helplessly watches Steve struggle with the man, who’s throwing him against the trailer’s walls like he weighs nothing. Suddenly, everything seems to happen in slow motion.

The man has punched Steve in his face, who staggers and falls against Danny. Without knowing how, Danny sees the man has Steve’s gun in his hands, pointing it at Steve’s chest. Danny lets out a scream and without thinking, he pushes Steve out of the trailer through the open door. The man in front of him fires the gun and the bullet hits him square in the chest.

Danny flies backwards and feels all of the air escaping from his lungs. Gasping for air, he hears Steve yell and Chin’s shotgun fire twice. When he looks up from the ground, he sees the suspect on the ground, dead.

Danny groans, slowly getting up and looking to see the damage the bullet did. It’s lodged firmly inside his bulletproof vest and he feels like someone hit him with a sledgehammer, but he seems to be breathing fine.

“Danny!”, Steve yells from outside of the trailer. When Steve jumps back inside the trailer and sees him sitting on the ground, relief immediately washes over his face.

“Are you okay?”, Steve asks, crouching down beside him, checking him for injuries. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Danny answers, inspecting Steve’s face. He seems to be frustrated and relieved at the same time.

“I’ll drive you to the hospital,” Steve says firmly, helping Danny to his feet. Danny grunts, both in pain and protest, but Steve gives him a look that makes him keep his mouth shut.

* * *

On the drive back from the hospital Steve grips the steering wheel of Danny’s car like he wants to strangle it. The doctors checked him out and it turns out Danny’s fine, no broken ribs, just some serious bruises. The entire drive to and from the hospital has been quiet so far, but Steve can’t take it anymore. He’s too frustrated, he has to know what’s going on.

“You have to tell me why you’ve been acting like this,” Steve says matter-of-factly. Danny is resolutely looking out of the window, but Steve’s not letting go. “You can’t keep shutting me out Danny, I need to know what’s going on!”, he tries again, raising his voice this time.

Danny makes a sound that’s a mix between a sigh and a frustrated grunt before answering. “I don’t know what you want from me, Steve!”, Danny yells, “You’re not my shrink, you don’t have to know every single thought that goes through my brain!” Steve has to suppress a growl, why is Danny making this so hard?

“I’m not letting this go Danny, you’ve been acting really weird and I want to know what’s going on!”, Steve’s voice is low but firm, he wants Danny to understand that he’s not getting away from this. “You could’ve been seriously injured today!”, Steve tells him, pulling up in the road to his house.

Danny snorts softly, “Nice, look who’s talking.” Steve turns his face towards Danny, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Danny still refuses to make eye contact with him. “Nothing,” Danny answers, taking off his seatbelt. Steve parks the car in front of his house and he opens his mouth to talk to Danny again, but Danny slams the door to the passenger seat in his face.

“Oh no you don’t,” Steve murmurs as he gets up too, following Danny to the front door. Danny’s standing at the front door, he clearly forgot he doesn’t have a key. Steve’s really tempted to continue their argument outside, but decides against it at the last moment and opens the door.

He steps inside the house first, immediately making sure that Danny won’t run away from their argument. Danny looks up at him, a hint of defeat flashing in his eyes. “Get off my back, Steve,” Danny says harshly, clearly trying to sound tough, but Steve notices the anxiety in his voice.

“No,” Steve answers firmly, “You’re my partner and I deserve to know what’s going on.” He crosses his arms in front of his chest, trying to look stern. But worry is spreading in his chest and eventually his anxiety sits like a pit in his stomach, threatening to swallow him whole.

Danny looks away, fumbling around, not knowing what to do with himself. “I just don’t know how to talk about it, okay?”, Danny says softly, looking at the ground. Steve feels the frustration and anger flow out of him, Danny looks tired and anxious.

“Why don’t you start by telling me what your nightmares have been about?”, Steve suggest, his voice softer now.

Danny sighs and looks to a point somewhere behind him, “They’re, they’re about-” Danny lets out a shuddering breath and Steve notices his eyes look watery.

Danny crosses his arms in front of his chest too and swallows, “They started after we picked you up from North Korea.” Steve frowns, “What do you mean?”, he asks him.

Danny sighs again, “Are you really going to make me say it, Steve?” He looks into Danny’s beautiful blue eyes, which are starting to fill up with tears again, but Steve’s still confused.

“I was worried sick about you, you piece of shit,” Danny’s words are harsh, but his voice breaks at the insult. Danny’s looking at the ground again, but Steve sees his shoulders shocking, is he crying?

“Hey, hey, it’s okay Danno,” Steve starts. Danny looks up at him, tears streaming down his face now.

“No it’s not, Steve,” Danny answers, his voice sounds strained and broken, “I thought you where going to die and that I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Danny really breaks down now, burying his face in his hands, sobbing softly. Steve’s in front of him in two strides and pulls Danny into his chest, holding him as if the embrace could heal the pain. But Danny only sobs harder, firmly closing his arms around Steve’s waist.

“I really thought you where going to leave me, Steve!”, Danny’s breaths come in big heaving sobs and Steve just holds him, letting him cry. After a while Danny’s breathing slows down and Steve lets go a little, looking down at Danny. His face is red and splotchy, his eyes swollen. Steve brings up his hand and wipes some of the tears off Danny’s face.

Danny smiles softly and sniffles, “Sorry for making your shirt all wet.” Danny’s voice still sounds hoarse, but Steve can tell he’s feeling a little better.

“That’s okay, it’s the least I deserved,” he answers. Steve takes a deep breath, “I realise I’ve been a jerk and really insensitive to your feelings and I’m so-”

Danny interrupts him, “Uh, yeah you have.” Steve can’t contain a laugh, “Oh shut up for three seconds and let my apologise!”

Steve releases Danny from the embrace and makes sure he has Danny’s attention. “I thought I was going to die in North Korea too,” Steve starts, now his voice sounds a little strained. “I thought Wo Fat was going to kill me and I’d never see you again, and that made me feel so horrible.”

Steve doesn’t want to break down in tears too, he wants to make sure Danny understands what he’s saying. “You don’t understand how I relieved I was to see you, Danno,” Steve decides he should stop talking now, before he really starts crying.

They stare into each others eyes for a while and Steve feels himself getting lost in Danny’s bright blue eyes, but Danny breaks the magic by frowning and breaking the silence.

“I should apologise too,” Danny starts, “I’ve been really distracted at work, but it’s just that I can’t seem to stop worrying.”

Steve sees panic fill Danny’s eyes again, “because what if I can’t be there on time? You get yourself in dangerous situations so much, I just don’t know what to do.” Danny’s talking fast and high pitched, rubbing his arms.

Steve pulls him in another hug, “Listen, you’re not the only one who worries, okay? We’re partners remember? Worrying is part of the deal.” Danny sighs and leans into the hug, “I know that Steve, I just can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

Steve smiles and hugs Danny a little tighter, “As long as we’ve got each other’s backs we’ll make it through, Danno.”

Danny lets out a relieved sigh and then a pained grunt, “I know you’re being really cute and wholesome, but could you take it easy a little? You’re nearly cracking my ribs.” Steve quickly releases him and they laugh, Danny rubbing his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you have any feedback or tips, be sure to let me know, they're very welcome! I think I'll write another chapter to wrap things up, so be on the lookout for that :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Danny finally figure out what their feelings for each other mean, with a little help from their friends.

At this point Danny’s cheeks are starting to hurt, but he doesn’t care. He woke up about half an hour ago, with Steve’s arm around his waist and his nose in his neck. Danny forgot how great it was, how safe he felt, when he shared a bed with someone.

Now that he thinks about it, he probably hasn’t felt this happy the entire time he’s been on this stupid island. His smile grows even wider and he stirs the eggs he’s making one last time. Eventually he had to escape Steve’s grasp to go to the bathroom and he decided he might as well make breakfast while he’s at it. So here he is. Making breakfast for him and Steve. In Steve’s kitchen. In his boxers and a shirt.

If he lets himself think about it too much, he feels a mountain settle on his chest and his throat tighten. So he doesn’t think about it too much, he tells himself this doesn’t mean anything, that this is just so they can both get some sleep. He decides to ignore the fact that his nightmares have almost completely gone away and that they’ve been sleeping together for the past two weeks.

His thoughts are disturbed by the sound of Steve coming down the stairs and Danny turns around to divide the eggs he just made over two plates. “Mornin’, Danno”, Steve calls out to him as he sits down at the small kitchen table. “I didn’t know you where physically able to wake up before me,” Steve says with a smug grin on his face, putting a spoonful of eggs in his mouth.

Danny rolls his eyes and turns around, “Yeah, yeah, mister navy, cut it out.” He hears Steve scoff behind him and he smiles, opening a cupboard to look for two glasses.

Danny reaches up to the top shelf to grab the glasses and he feels his shirt reach above his waistline. Embarrassed, he turns around to set the glasses on the table and he catches Steve staring at his waist. Danny feels himself turn bright red and quickly turns around again to open the fridge.

“Steve, your fridge is depressingly empty,” Danny comments cynically, hoping to clear the air.

He hears Steve cough and breathe in sharply behind him before he answers, “I take that drinking beer for breakfast is a bad idea then?”

Danny can’t suppress a laugh, “Yeah, that’s a stupid idea, you Neanderthal.”

Danny can’t get the grin off his face at the office for the rest of the morning. He’s sure everybody in the team must have noticed, hell, the entire building probably knows something’s up with him. But he couldn’t care less. He could however, try to focus on the case a little more. A part of him is getting frustrated with his own inability to do his job properly. Somehow he feels like he’s 16 years old again, unstable and unable to focus on anything for more than 10 minutes.

He’s halfway through wishing they won’t have to do any field work today, when Steve knocks on his office door, gesturing for him to come out. Danny sighs, he hopes Steve won’t get them in another gunfight, because he isn’t sure if his head’s in the right place today.

“Put on a vest Danno, we’ve got a location on the suspect and we’re going to bring her in,” Steve tells him the moment Danny steps outside his office. Danny has to suppress the urge to immediately turn around and lock himself in his office for the rest of the day. Of course a day with Steve can’t go without a good gunfight and a solid body tackle.

Danny sighs to himself, “I’ll be there in a bit, babe,” he tells Steve while putting his holster on. After getting his gear together, Danny walks to his car, Steve already behind the wheel.

He takes a brief moment to breathe before entering the car, he seriously needs to get his head on the right way. His happiness from that morning seems to have switched into something completely different. He feels like something is wrong and he needs some time to figure it out. Which he hasn’t, because Steve’s always around. God, especially since they work together, live in the same house and sleep in the same bed.

Who knows, maybe some field work will get him to shelf whatever’s going on for later. Danny makes a promise to himself to try to not get shot this time and gets in the car.

“What’s the plan, Steve?”, Chin asks Steve. They’re standing at the entrance of a very busy mall, quickly going over the strategy of the arrest again.

“Danny and I post on the higher level, you guys on the lower level,” Steve starts explaining with a serious expression on his face and Danny is immediately distracted by how Steve’s face looks when he’s focussed. “According to our source, the suspect will enter through the second entrance of the building and make the drop near the fountain in the middle of the shopping centre. We take her in the moment we can confirm she exchanged the money.”

Steve ends his explanation with making eye contact with all of them, seeming to linger a little longer on Danny.

“Got it! Let’s move!”, Lori enthusiastically moves towards the mall first, the rest of them following behind. Danny and Steve move away from Chin and Lori to climb the stairs to the second floor. “So,” Danny casually starts, “how do you know the suspect again?”

Steve’s still very serious and Danny has a hard time taking in what he’s saying when he answers his question, “She and my sister where friends for a while.” Steve stops talking for a bit to determine the best spot to take post and walks towards an area near a wall with the clearest view of the entrance with a determined stride. Danny pretends he isn’t extremely distracted by Steve’s upper legs when he follows behind.

“They fell out of touch when Mary found out she and her boyfriend where involved in the drugs world,” Steve ends his story.

“Mary decided that all by herself, huh?”, Danny notes sarcastically.

Steve grins, breaking his serious expression for a moment, “I might have encouraged her to meet other friends around that time.” Danny grins back and leans against a wall. Steve’s protectiveness over the people he loves is one of the traits Danny loves most about him.

They wait in silence for 15 minutes, Steve watching their surroundings, Danny focussing on the entrance the suspect will be coming through. Suddenly, Steve is only inches away from him, his lower arms resting on the wall on each side of Danny’s head.

“Steve, what the hell are you-“, Danny’s breath catches in his throat and he only manages to get out a few muffled sounds before Steve quickly tells him to be quiet.

“She came in the other way, she’s behind me,” Steve whispers in Danny’s ear. He looks behind Steve, but can’t focus on anybody but Steve.

Danny feels Steve’s breath on his face when he reports the change to Lori and Chin. He notices how strong Steve’s arms look around him and how amazing he smells. Steve seems to be talking to him now, but Danny’s still processing how beautiful Steve’s eyes look from this close and how come he’s never noticed Steve has really nice cheekbones?

“Danno? You in there?”, Steve whispers firmly. Danny’s finally able to shake of the haze and nods, what the hell is wrong with him?

The next 5 minutes Danny’s desperately trying to calm his breathing, his heart and his brain. He has no idea why what Steve just did affected him so much, but he knows he can’t afford to dwell on it for too long. After the suspect came in through the wrong entrance, the whole operation turned into a hectic mess and Danny has no idea what’s going on.

He’s pretty sure Steve’s currently chasing the suspect through the mall, but he was gone before Danny had a chance to catch up with him. So now he’s running with Chin and Lori in the general direction Steve went.

Steve forgot to turn his comm off, so Danny can clearly hear his fast paced panting in his ear, which is distracting as hell and doing things to him he doesn’t want to admit.

“You seem distracted,” Chin states, breathing heavy, “Something happen between you and Steve just now?”

Danny shakes his head, “It’s fine, just couldn’t keep up with him.” Chin doesn’t seem convinced at all, but he grins and gestures for Danny and Lori to follow him out of an exit.

Desperate to stop the tingle in his stomach because of Steve’s panting, Danny reaches out to him with his comm. “Hey Steve?”, there’s silence for a while, but eventually Steve answers.

“Got her, you guys come pick her up in the park behind the mall,” Steve’s panting still continues after his answer, but Danny pulls the earpiece out. For some reason he feels disappointment along with his relief to not hear Steve’s heavy breathing anymore.

* * *

His arms crossed and leaning against the wall of the interrogation room, Steve calmly watches Danny rapidly fire questions at the suspect. Inside however, Steve’s everything but calm. He knows he should probably be listening to Danny’s attempt of what he calls “the good cop approach,” but he can barely hear what Danny’s saying.

All his attention is pulled to how Danny holds himself, his gestures, his posture, the slight cocks with his head when he finishes a sentence, how his button up stretches tight across his chest when Danny raises his arms in question, just Danny, Danny, Danny. As Danny makes eye contact with him, his deep blue eyes striking to Steve’s core, a knock on the door disturbs his thoughts and Danny’s interrogation. Lori steps inside and gestures at them to meet her in the hallway.

“Okay, don’t go anywhere, alright?”, Danny tells the suspect, handcuffed to the metal chair in the middle of the room.

Lori immediately starts talking when the door closes behind them, “Fong just sent the lab report, you guys should really go check it out.” Steve’s about to protest, but she continues, “Just let Chin and me interrogate the suspect further, you guys go look into the possible witnesses Fong pulled up.”

Danny nods and interrupts Steve too, “She’s right Steve, we’re not getting anywhere anyway, she won’t talk with you in the room.”

Steve frowns, “What do you mean? We’ll get it out of her!”, he states defensively.

Lori chuckles, “The girl’s terrified of you Steve, she’s not going to talk, trust me.”

Danny puts a hand on Steve’s back with a soft slap, “I’ve seen the look in her eyes when you said, and I quote: ‘If you try to involve my sister again, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life in jail.’”

Danny and Lori both smile wide, “Yes, we all heard that Steve,” Danny ends, not hiding how much he’s enjoying Steve’s defeated expression.

“Fine,” Steve answers with a sigh, “Let’s see what Fong’s report says.”

For the rest of the day, Steve can’t help but shoot glances at Danny, getting pulled into his partner’s presence every single time he enters the room. Why is Danny’s appearance such a distraction all of a sudden? Is it because he looks more rested? Happier? Steve feels like he knows what’s going on deep down, but he doesn’t allow himself to dig deeper.

He just wants this day to end, go for a run and figure out whatever’s going on with him and Danny. Steve usually leaves the office last, but this time he leaves first, along with Lori. Needing some time away from Danny, Steve decides to ask Lori if he can drive back to his place with her.

“Sure! Are you ready to leave?”, Lori answers and Steve nods.

“Just need to hand Danny his keys, I’ll be right there,” he answers, Lori smiles and tells him she’ll wait in the hall.

Steve knocks on the door to Danny’s office and walks inside. Danny looks up from the files he’s looking at, his hair a little messy and his shirt unbuttoned just far enough to show some of his chest hair. Steve swallows and has to force himself to look into Danny’s eyes, feeling a jerk deep in his stomach because of Danny’s appearance.

Steve hands Danny his keys, giving himself some extra time to regain his posture, “I’m catching a ride home with Lori, I want to go for a run before dinner.” Danny nods and takes the keys from him. Steve thinks he notices a flash of jealousy in Danny’s eyes, but it’s gone before he can be sure.

“Sure, see you home,” Danny answers, something cold in his voice. Steve feels like he should say something, but he can’t think of anything, so he just nods and closes the door behind him.

Lori’s waiting for him in the hall just outside of the office, a thoughtful look on her face. It looks like she’s going to say something, but they walk outside before she says anything. “Everything okay, boss? You seem distracted,” she asks him, a concerned look on her face.

Steve sighs, “Yeah, I think I’ll just go for a run to clear my head a little bit,” he answers.

Lori nods, unlocking her car, “Want me to go with you? I need to do some cardio today anyway.” Steve thinks about what he wants before answering, but decides he can use somebody to talk to. Lori’s smart and it’s her job to read and analyse people, so maybe she can tell him something about what his feelings mean that even he doesn’t know yet.

The first ten minutes of their run is relatively quiet, both of them busy warming up and stretching. But after a while, Lori starts up the conversation. “What’s up, Steve? You look like you have lot going on under that thick skull of yours,” she adds with a teasing smile. Steve smiles softly, not sure what to say.

“I don’t really know,” he answers, a defeated tone in his voice.

“Something wrong between you and Danny?”, she asks him, slowly starting to jog. Steve runs along with her, letting her decide the pace.

“I don’t think anything’s wrong,” Steve starts, “but what makes you say that?”

Lori scoffs softly, a smile playing around her lips, “Because the air between you two is so thick you couldn’t fire a gun with you two in the same room.” Steve chuckles at her weird phrasing, but he still doesn’t understand completely. What was going on between them that only he is missing? Lori must have noticed the puzzled look on his face, because she softly pushes a fist against is upper arm.

“Come on, Steve!,” she starts, “With the way you two look at each other, I sometimes feel like I’m intruding by just being in the room!” Steve let her words sink in for a moment, he realises his glances at Danny must’ve not been so subtle. Steve still doesn’t say anything, his thoughts racing. Lori slows down to a walk and looks at him, her expression suddenly serious.

“Do you have any idea about what’s going on between you two, Steve?”, Lori kindly asks him, her tone making him feel slightly stupid. He shakes his head at her, he knows his feelings must have been building for a long time to get this intense, but he still feels overwhelmed by them.

He has no idea how to put what he feels into words and Lori seems to catch on to that. “Listen Steve,” she stops walking, making sure he’s listening, “What’s clear even for me, is that what you and Danny have is special. Do you agree?” Steve nods, slowly starting to realise where this is going.

“You seem happiest when you’re around him,” Lori adds, a hint of pain in her eyes, “I think you should talk to him about how you feel.” Steve wants to interrupt, wanting to tell her he has no idea how to do that, but she puts a hand in the air between them, silencing him.

“Danny knows you better than anybody else, Steve. He’ll help you figure it out,” she ends, a soft smile on her face. Steve feels comforted by her words, but they also scare him. This conversation just made his feelings for Danny solid. He can almost feel them sitting in his stomach. But how does he know Danny feels the same?

* * *

Meanwhile, Danny’s still in the office, trying to work on the case. He runs his hand through is hair, his other hand selecting random files on the table in the middle of the office. Danny knows he should probably go home, but home means Steve. And Steve means more intense gazes, more subtle body contact and more feelings he has no idea how to cope with.

A cough being him abruptly pulls him out of his thoughts and he turns around, startled. “Didn’t meant to scare you,” Chin says, a laugh in his voice,“I thought I’d be the last one here.” Chin stops in front of him, casually leaning against a wall.

“I was about to go home,” Danny lies, probably sounding unconvincing. He’s really learning that lying’s not his strongest suit.

“I’ve been a cop long enough to see when someone’s working to not have to think about other things, Danny,” Chin tells him, his face friendly. “You can talk to me if you want, what’s going on?”, his voice turns serious and Danny sees concern in Chin’s eyes. Danny sighs, rubbing his hands over his face, how is he supposed to talk about this?

“Is it about what happened between you and Steve in the field today?”, Chin asks him. Danny avoids eye contact with Chin when he answers.

“Eh, yeah, kinda,” he sighs in frustration, why is this so hard? “I’m not sure. Maybe.” he concludes, fully aware he must be making zero sense.

Chin lets out a soft chuckle, “Take it easy pal, there’s no rush.” Danny smiles and meets Chin’s gaze for a second, he’s grateful somebody’s willing to listen to him.

“Have you ever felt so safe and right with someone that you’re terrified of messing it up?”, Danny asks Chin, looking away again. Danny hears Chin sigh and he looks up to see a smile that says more than anything he says after linger on Chin’s face.

“Yeah, I had that with Malia the moment I met her,” he tells him, the smile still stuck on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. “I couldn’t believe I was able to feel so safe around someone, and yeah,” he chuckles, “I was terrified of messing it up.”

Danny’s surprised to see Chin act so casual about this, “Well, how’d you deal with that?”, he asks him, curious.

“I just told her,” Chin says, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. “I just told her that I’ve never felt saver around anybody else, that I loved her and that I was terrified of messing something up and losing her.” Again, Danny’s astound by how easy Chin makes it out to be. How can you just tell someone that? Chin must have seen the look of bewilderment on Danny’s face, because he laughs again.

“Hey, look, I didn’t say it was an easy conversation!”, the laugh fades from Chin’s voice and he turns serious. “But it was that conversation that brought our relationship further than anything else we went through,” Chin explains.

“Well, you ended up getting divorced, so I don’t know why I’m taking advice from you,” Danny notes sarcastically, trying to clear the air of the seriousness of the conversation. Chin lets out a heartfelt laugh and comes up to Danny to give him a slap on the back and lead him out of the office.

“Well, from one divorced guy to another, talk to your partner,” Chin tells him, “I ended up back with Malia after having basically that same conversation again.” Danny’s anxiety seems to push from his head to his chest, settling like a fat man on his ribcage.

“You’ll be okay, my friend,” Chin tells him, giving him another reassuring pat on the back.

The drive home takes him a little longer than usual, Danny is in no rush to get started with this inevitable conversation with Steve.

Chin’s words linger in his mind, his chest still feels tight and he grips the steering wheel to stop his fingers from trembling. Is this really a good idea? What if he only complicates things, pushing Steve away? He lets out a nervous laugh at this thought, things can’t get more complicated than they already are anyway. Danny’s sleeping in Steve’s bed for god’s sake. He’s lost count of how many times he nearly walked in on Steve showering early in the morning.

Parking in front of Steve’s house, his heart starts racing and he rests his head against the car door before opening it. He seriously needs to calm down. It’s just Steve. He’ll be fine. Fine. Yes.

Taking a deep breath, he opens the door, steps outside, locks his car, slowly walks up to the front door, knocks, waits, listens to Steve’s approaching steps, breathes and exhales. The door opens and Danny breaths in sharply.

He’s sure Steve’s never looked this amazing. Like the man’s just trying to bully him. With his stupid ruffled short hair, his stupid v-neck shirt with the chest hair poking out and a tiny part of the tattoos on his arms showing, and his stupid, blue, beautiful eyes. Which are looking at him like he’s the only person on the planet.

“Are you okay, Danno?”, Steve asks him and Danny feels a pull on his heart when he hears the nickname out of Steve’s mouth.

* * *

Steve’s sure something wrong the moment he opens the door to let Danny in. He wants to ask what’s wrong, but he notices Danny doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself.

“Want to sit on the lanai?”, Steve suggest. Danny nods and walks through the living room to the back of the house, Steve following him. Deciding the push the conversation he had with Lori to the back of his head, Steve sits down in one of the chairs on his beach, inspecting Danny’s face.

“What’s wrong, Danno?”, Steve asks him, the air heavy between them. Danny opens and closes his mouth like he wants to say something, not looking at Steve. He decides to wait, hoping Danny will tell him what’s wrong eventually. After a few minutes of heavy silence, Steve can’t take it anymore.

“Seriously Danno, you can tell me.” He tries to sound patient and kind, but Steve notices his anxiety is showing through what must sound like frustration. Danny sighs and looks at him, frowning.

“I know that Steve, I just don’t know how to tell you, okay?”, Danny tells him, sounding frustrated too. Steve feels his face harden, anxiety settling deeper inside his stomach.

“What happened to having each other’s backs, Danny?”, Steve starts, unable to hide the hurt from his voice, “You can tell me everything, you should know that by now.” Danny’s face suddenly turns really guilty when he looks at him, but he still sounds frustrated.

“Of course I know that Steve, that’s the point!” Steve’s silent again, looking at Danny with a questioning look. Why won’t he just tell him?

“I-,” Danny starts, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply, “I’m really scared, Steve.”

Steve frowns, “Why? What’s wrong? Are you having nightmares again?”, he asks, worried.

Danny smiles briefly, “No, that’s not it Steve.”

Steve’s starting to feel frustrated again, “Then what, Danno? What’s going on?”

Danny looks away, “I’m just so scared of losing you, Steve,” he tells him, his voice barely audible.

“What?”, Steve starts, “Of course I won’t leave you, Danno! You’re the best friend I’ve ever had!” Danny breathes in through his nose, he looks hurt by Steve’s comment.

Suddenly Danny stands up, “What the hell am I doing?”, Steve hears him whisper. Steve stands up too, noticing the tears in Danny’s eyes. He doesn’t want him to walk away, he has to make sure Danny’s okay.

“Hey, hey, Danno,” Steve calls out, softly grabbing Danny’s biceps. “Danno, Listen to me,” Steve starts, lowering his head to make eye contact with Danny.

“Danno, I’m not going anywhere,” Steve says softly, his voice low, “You don’t have to be scared.” Danny fully looks up to him now, his eyes watery, but Steve notices something like determination mixed with the fear in his partner’s eyes.

Suddenly, Danny’s hands cup has face and his lips are on Steve’s. Steve breathes in sharply through his nose, grabbing Danny’s arms a little tighter. Danny keeps his lips firmly on his, he can feel his muscles tight under Danny’s shirt. Steve softly rubs Danny’s arms with his thumbs and leans into the kiss, letting him know that it’s okay. That he wants this too.

Danny notices and Steve feels him relax, leaning into him. Steve grabs Danny’s waist, pulling him closer. Steve makes sure they take their time, he kisses Danny softly and slowly, pouring the things he could never put in words into the kiss. After a while they break apart, both panting slightly.

“Steve, I-“, but Steve silences Danny with another kiss, more passionate this time.

Steve breaks the kiss again, “It’s okay Danno, I’ve got you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the last chapter of this story! It's the longest piece of fiction I've ever written and I'm proud of myself for sticking with it! If you have any tips or feedback be sure to let me know, it's always welcome :)


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